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Religious Leaders Collaborate to Defend the Family at World Congress of Families X; Bishop Dominique Rey of France Provides Support and Encouragement
French Catholic Bishop Calls the Congress of "A Sign of Hope for Our Post-Modern Societies" and says that, "The defense of family is one of the points on which the Catholic Church would like to collaborate with other churches and confessions."
 
Contact Larry Jacobs, Manager, World Congress of Families, 815-997-7106. media@worldcongress.org
 
ROCKFORD, Ill., May 14, 2016 /Christian Newswire/ -- In a special letter of support and encouragement, Roman Catholic Bishop Dominique Rey of Frejus-Toulon France extended "his warmest greetings" to those attending World Congress of Families X. in Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia, starting on Sunday, May 15th.
 
Bishop Rey noted that: "This Congress is a sign of hope for our post-modern societies, distinguished by the secularization, the loss of natural references and the ideological lack of differentiation of people and biological sex. Your Congress is an opportunity to think about the answers we can provide to a suffering world and, at the same time, to celebrate, in the diversity of your origins, the great human family of creatures of God."
 
The Bishop noted that "contemporary challenges for the family, identified by Pope Francis," included: transmitting faith and children's education; atomization of the individual; "gender ideology and lack of differentiation of biological sex;" diminishing the father figure and lack of respect for women's bodies; "a biotechnological revolution which, through artificial procreation and genetic experimentation, allows humans to substitute for God;" alcoholism and other addictions; poverty and social exclusion; weakening of the institution of marriage; and "dehumanization of weakest: children to be born, old or handicapped people or people at the end of their life."
 
Bishop Rey further observed: "The defense of family is one of the points on which the Catholic Church would like to collaborate with other churches and confessions to bring closer to a growing faithfulness of the teachings of the Christ. Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill made this clear during their historic meeting:
 
"'The family is the natural center of human life and society. We are concerned about the crisis in the family in many countries […]. The family is based on marriage, an act of freely given and faithful love between a man and a woman. It is love that seals their union and teaches them to accept one another as a gift. Marriage is a school of love and faithfulness'."
 
The letter closed with, "I would like to ensure, dear friends, my faithful prayers and my fatherly blessings, Bishop Dominique Rey."
 
Click here to read the Bishop's letter in its entirety.
 
Other religious leaders speaking at World Congress of Families X include:
 
    His Holiness and Beatitude, Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, Ilia II
    Elder Robert C. Gay – General Authority Seventy of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
    Fr. Josiah Trenham – Member of the Secretariat of the U.S. Assembly of Orthodox Bishops
    Father Thomas Loya – Pastor of Annunciation of the Mother of God Byzantine Catholic Parish in Homer Glen, Illinois
    Rev. C. Gregory Johnson – President, Standing Together; At-Large Member of the Board, National Associations of Evangelicals
    Christine de Marcellus de Vollmer – Pontifical Council of the Family
    Dr. Everett Piper – President, Oklahoma Wesleyan University
    Dr. Candi Finch – Assistant Professor of Theology in Women's Studies, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
    Dr. Evan Lenow, Assistant Professor of Ethics, Director of the Center for Biblical Stewardship, Dir. of the Richard Land Center for Cultural Engagement, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
    Justin Murff – Director of Development, Christian Broadcasting Network
    Vicki Thorn – member, Pontifical Academy for Life
    Fenny Tatad – Executive Director, Philippine Catholic Bishops Conference
    Dr. Paige Patterson – President Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Past President, Southern Baptist Convention
    Dr, Alveda King – Director of Outreach, Priests For Life
 
A full list of speakers at www.worldcongress.ge  
 
WCF Tbilisi 2016 will be the first World Congress of Families in the Eurasian and Caucasus region (on the Old Silk Road to China) and the first in an Orthodox Christian country. WCF X conferences and concerts will be held in multiple venues in Tbilisi including the opening ceremony in Tbilisi's State Philharmonic Concert Hall, the Radisson Blu Iveria Hotel, and the closing ceremony in the historic Rustaveli National Theatre in Tbilisi. WCF X will be broadcast on Georgian TV stations and various international channels to more than 250 million viewers.
 
Previous Congresses have been held in Prague (1997), Geneva (1999), Mexico City (2004), Warsaw (2007), Amsterdam (2009), Madrid (2012), Sydney (2013) and Salt Lake City (2015).   The Tenth Jubilee, World Congress of Families X – Civilization at The Crossroads: The Natural Family as the Bulwark of Freedom and Human Values - will take place in Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia (May 15-18, 2016). This is the premier gathering of the world's largest network of pro-family leaders, parents, youth, lawmakers, scholars, religious leaders, and advocates united to support the natural family. WCF X is uniting global leaders to defend family and faith and to developing a pro-family agenda for Europe and the World. 
 
To register and reserve your tickets for World Congress of Families X go to: www.eventbrite.com/e/world-congress-of-families-x-tbilisi-republic-of-georgia-may-15-18-2016-tickets-22669828066?aff=es2.  
 
 
 
For more information on World Congress of Families X, visit the Congress websites: www.worldcongress.ge and www.worldcongress.org.